Package cushioning and sealing means



De- 8 1953 R; v. GRlsHABER 2,661,835

PACKAGE CUSHIOING AND SEALING MEANS Filed Oct. 29, 1948 Patented Dec. 8, `19553 UNITED STATES PATENT volnmzif. PAQKAGE sEALrNe Ralph v. Grishaber, Neenah.. Wis., assigner to Paper Patentsl Company, Neenah,A Wis., a; co1'-t poraon of Wisconsin Application October 29, 1948, Serial N o. 57,173 fi-Glaims (Cline-.46)

' This invention relates to a package cushioning andsealing device, that is to say, to a device embodying a structure whereby the content of a container may be protected against damage by protective cushions, and whereby the container mayy be sealed in such a manner` that it cannot be opened without leaving visible evidencethat it has been opened.

The device to be described has been designed especially` for application to packages, such as phonograph record albums and book type packages generally, andY itwill be described in connection With a package ofthat type. However, other applications may occur as the eld of utility'is explored.

The main object of the invention isto provide a simple but eicient means for protecting frangible articles packaged between covers of a booklike structure, such as a phonograph recordl album, against breakage incident to-nor-mal handling and transportation to which such products are subjected; to provide a device of the-charac ter. indicated whereby a book-type rpackage may be sealed in its initially filled condition so that the. purchaser may have reasonable assurance of receiving fresh, unused and unworn merchandiseA as originallypackaged; to provide such a pro-- tective packaging and sealing device which will be inexpensiveV both in respect ofthe cost of materials and labor involved producingl it and; in. general it is the object of the-invention` toy provide an improved device of.l the characterindicated;

Other objects-and advantages` of the invention willH be understood by reference to. the followingspecication and, accompanying drawing- (one sheet). inr which there. is illustrated a package cushioning and sealing device embodying a selected form of the invention.

In the drawing,

Rigs. 1: and 2 areplan and edge views respec tively ofthe improved package: cushioning andsealing device;

Eig. 3 is a cross section on--the line 34.-3 of- 4 is a perspective illustrating-the applica-- The.v cushioning. andsealing device shown inV Figs. 1 to 4, consists of a base sheet or backing sheet I of suitable flexible material, a goodv grade offkraftfpaper being satisfactory. On the backing; sheet I there are applied pads/2l and 3frespe'c- 2: tively of cushioning material. These p'aiis-nlra/ be of' any desired material. Cushioning material formed of a multiplicity of superposed plies ofcreped tissue paperconstitute one satisfactory type of material. If the pads 2 and 3 are made of" superposed plies of creped tissue paper, the; plies are preferably bonded togethery by being highly compressed in small spaced areas; suclr as indicated at 4. The sheets are compressed under suilicient pressure to cause them to becoifresubstantially welded togethery the areas"` 'oicompression. One of thecushioning materials" suitable for the purpose isdescribed in Patent No. 2,106,246. These pads 2 and 3- are spacedfrom each other as indicated' at 5` and the back*-y ing sheet I in the spacebetween the pad'sl is preferably provided withy cut, scored or slittedf l-ines of weakness, such as indicated at 6, 'Whichcooperates to form a central strip which may* readily be torn out of the backingfsheet'to sepa-- rate the structure into two independent elements:

'Ik-he cushions 2 and 3 are adhesively bonded'tbl one-side of the backing sheet I, any suitable adhe'-- sive being employed for that purpose. Adhesive attachment may be elTected-over the entirev areas: of the-cushions or pads, or in smaller localized; areas or strips if preferred. On the oppositeside; the backing sheet may be coated with adhesive asindicated. at 1, the adhesive T5 beingr applied' over the major portion ofthe-area offthe backingslieet opposite the' pads 2A and 3"; or in smaller localized: areas as may befound? desirable.y

A- cushioning and sealing unit, such as illusie trated in Figs. 1 and2, is applied to a phonograph" record album by first adhesively) attachingone end portion ofthe backing to the inside of* the back cover 8 of a phonograph record album, the padding 3 (for example) facingthe insidev ofthe album. The record holding; en-'velopesor pockets Bof the album, having-been lledv withthe desired' records, are then closed over the pad 3the. front' cover I -fof the album remaining open. hen theoentra-l portion 5`- of` the unit is carried' for.-` Wardl'y over the upper edge or. the assembled' record envelopes andl thev` pad Zibroughtl downwardly over the-front of the then'forward or top' envelope. The otherv end portion ofthe devi'e; i. ei.- the portion carrying the pad'f2' isthen adhesivelybonded to the inside ofthe cover: I' by closingV that cover and thereby bringing it into. engagement with the adhesive-surface opposite.

the pad'2. As soon as `the adhesive sets` and dries.,`

3 faces of both the front and back covers. To open the album the strip is removed by tearing along the weakened lines S, leaving the pads 2 and 3 secured in place on the inside of the album covers. Hence, the pads remain in place and oder protection for the album content at all times.

If desired, the device may have its pad portions secured to the back face of the rearmost envelope and to the front face of the front envelope, the envelopes being thereby sealed in closed condition while leaving the album covers free to be opened so as to permit inspection of any data which may be carried by the inside faces of the covers. The pad and backing over the front envelope may be provided with an opening registering with the usual envelope front opening to permit inspection of the label on the central portion of the record.

The adhesive may be applied as a step in the manufacture of device and dried so that the device may be applied after wetting the adhesive coatings. However, the adhesive may be applied at the time the device is applied to the article and, of course, the adhesive may be applied to either the device or the article to be sealed or both. Pressure sensitive or other suitable adhesives may be used instead of ordinary wet adhesives.

It is not necessary that the paper or other backing l extend over the entire area of the pads 2 and 3 and it is not necessary that the padding be in independent sections.

If desired, a continuous piece of padding having end portions II and I2 and an intermediate portion I3 may be employed as shown in Fig. 5.

The portion I3 is preferably embossed, i. e. compressed to reduce its thickness and it may be provided with tear lines as in the form shown in Fig. 1 or with a single tear line I4 to facilitate separation of the sections lI and I2 from each other. Also, said intermediate portion I3 may consist of less than the entire number of plies in the pads I I and I2 so that such lesser number of plies constitutes, in eiect, a backing element similar to the backing element I except that they would provide a backing of the same material as the pads.

Tape strips such as indicated at I5 and I6 (Fig. 5) suitably secured to the respective pads II and I2 and the intermediate portion I3 may serve the purpose of the over-all backing of the first described form. The tapes are also provided with lines of severance such as indicated at Il in register with the tear line (or lines) in the underlying portion of the padding. The tapes I5 and i6 or either of them may be provided with adhesive material indicated at I8 for faciliating attachment of the structure to a book-like package in the manner above explained in respect of the rst described form of construction.

While the use of a paper backing as above described presently seems preferable, experience may show that this backing, and the described paper strip backing, may he wholly eliminated and the padding material secured directly to the package structure, especially if the padding is employed in the continuous form shown in Fig. 5 in which the intermediate portion i3 of the padding, like the intermediate backing portion 5 serves to prevent removal of records or the like from the open upper edges of the album envelopes, which, in the absence of said intermediate portions, might be effected even without opening the covers of the album.

By embossing the intermediate padding portion [3, strength is added to that portion and clean severance along one o1' more tear lines is made practicable.

ln the illustrated embodiments, the pads are shown as being of such size as to cover most of the area of the album. It is preferable that the pads be spaced at least about one inch from the hinged edges of the album covers and the pads may be much narrower than the width of the book. The pads may be of narrow strip-like form located at any selected position intermediate hinge edge and the opposite edge of the book, for example, about midway between these edges. rl'wo or more such narrow strips may be employed ii desired. In still another arrangement, one or more narrow padding strips or small sections of padding may be secured to a paper backing sheet at suitable points to provide the required protection.

The paper backed structure shown in Fig. l may be very expeditiously manufactured by Vfeeding a web of suitable paper in the direction of its length, applying adhesive to one face of the web either in two broad bands approximately corresponding to the width of the pads to be attached or in one or more lengthwise extending narrow stripes or bands, or in a series of spot-like areas, and then feeding a pair of webs of padding material into overlying relation to the coated face of the hacking web. The padding Webs would, oi course, be spacededgewise from each other so as to leave an uncovered intermediate backing strip portion correspondingvto the portion 5. Suitable pressure means may be employed for pressing the assembled padding webs and backing web together to insure proper adhesive attachment of the parts. Adhesive may be applied to the other face of the backing web by suitable adhesive applying mechanism either before or after the cushion webs are applied. After the structure is assembled and united, end portions of the proper width may be cut therefrom to produce individual units of the character shown in Fig. l. These fabricating operations may be carried on continuously and at fairly high speed so that the material may be produced at very low cost.

It will be apparent that the purchaser of a book type of package closed by the described device will be assured of receiving fresh and unused merchandise. The package may very readily be opened by tearing the sealing device either along a single tear line extending along the intermediate portion 5 of the backing or by removing a strip thereforin by tearing as explained, or otherwise. Once the intermediate portion of the backing material or padding is separated by tearing or cutting, the fact that the package has been opened becomes apparent to the purchaser. To merely prevent opening of the book-like covers, the severable intermediate portion may be located across either the bottom edge or across the side opposite to the hinge connection between the covers of the package. Also, the pad por-` tions of the device may be applied to the outside of the package covers but this is not considered desirable, especially in connection with a phonograph record album type of package in which the padding, when located inside of the covers, provides a high degree of protection for the records.

For mere book-type package sealing, the padding element or elements of the described devices may be omitted and plain sealing Webs em"V ascisse ployed. In such an application of the invention, the intermediate web portion such as the portion 5, may extend across the edges of the book pages or envelopes at either the top or bottom sides or across the edges at theV front side opposite the hinged side, and the end portions of the web may extend into the book so as to embrace all or part only of the pages said end portions being suitably united to either of the adjacent page faces including the inside of the front and back covers which, for the purpose of this patent application, may be regarded as the first and last pages of the package. Also, for the purpose of this patent application, record and like envelopes as in a phonograph record album may be considered pages of the package. The edges of the pages over which the intermediate portion of the sealing element extends are preferably recessed inwardly from the corresponding edges of the covers so that said intermediate portion is thereby protected against damage by relatively projecting margins of the front and back covers.

Various other changes may be made in the details of construction While retaining the principles of the described constructions.

I claim:

1. A sealed book-type package comprising a book-like member having hinged front and back covers and intervening pages, the inner sides of said covers and said intervening pages presenting face areas within the package, and a sealing member having a severable intermediate portion extending across the edges of the pages at one side thereof, and end portions extending into the package in face-to-face engagement with a selected pair of said face areas and united thereto, thereby to normally prevent opening of the pages intermediate said selected face areas, and a pair of cushioning pads attached respectively to the sealing member end portions which are united to said pair of face areas.

2. A sealed and cushion-protected package comprising a book-like member having hinged front and back covers and intervening pages, the inner sides of said covers and said intervening pages presenting face areas within the package, said pages having mutually registering edges which are recessed relative to the corresponding edges of said front and back covers, and a sealing and cushioning member having a severable intermediate portion extending across the recessed edges of said pages, and end portions extending into the package in face-to-face engagement with a selected pair of said face areas and united thereto, thereby to normally prevent opening of the pages intermediate said selected pair of face areas, the cover portions .Which extend outwardly from said recessed page edges serving to protect said intermediate portion of the sealing member against damage, and a pair v of cushioning pads attached respectively to the sealing member en d portions which are united to said pair of face areas as aforesaid.

3. A sealed and cushion protected book-type package having a plurality of hingedly interconnected members, and a sealing and cushioning means comprising a web having end portions and an intermediate portion, said intermediate portion being disposed across selected edges of said hinged members at one edge of the package other than the hinge edge thereof, and said end portions extending into the package inwardly of the outermost hinged members thereof and being united to faces of hinged members disposed adjacent to said end portions, thereby to normally prevent opening of the members to which said end portions are united and any intervening hinged members, and cushion means carried by said end portions to protect the material in the package intermediate said end portions, said intermediate portion being adapted to be separated from at least one of said end portions to permit opening of the initially sealed portion of the package.

V4. A sealed and cushion protected book-type package having front and back covers and a plurality of hingedly interconnected envelopes having open upper edges providing access to the interiors of said envelopes, and sealing and cushioning means comprising a web having end,

portions and an intermediate portion, said intermediate portion being disposed across the open upper edges of said envelopes, and said end portions extending into the package inside of said covers and united to the inside faces thereof, thereby to normally prevent opening of the package, and cushioning means carried by said end portions to protect the material in said envelopes, said intermediate web portion serving also to block access to said envelopes through the open edges thereof and being adapted to be separated from at least one of said end portions to permit opening of the package.

RALPH V. GRISI-IABER.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 771,267 Read Oct. 4, 1904 899,035 Dunn Sept. 22, 1908 1,585,846 Frisbie May 25, 1926 1,601,547 Woffard Sept. 28,1926 1,991,640 Taylor Feb. 19, 1935 2,064,122 Krannert Dec. 15, 1936 2,339,326 Fourness et al. Jan. 18, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 9,788 Great Britain A. D. 1913 135,518 Switzerland Sept. 30, 1929 396,418 Great Britain July 24, 1933 413,779 Great Britain July 26, 1934 

